LMP’s Szél contacted Momentum Movement about possible alliance

Breaking with the policy of running independently, Politics Can Be Different (LMP) informed the Momentum Movement that it would be open for cooperation in the April 8 parliamentary election, index.hu reports.

So far, the green-liberal LMP has been staunchly opposing any kind of universal cooperation between parties of the so-called democratic opposition, namely those excluding far-right Jobbik. Although LMP formed an alliance with the center-right Új Kezdet (New Start) party, led by Gödöllő mayor György Gémesi, given the latter’s small size, LMP did not risk its independence by forming the alliance.

While other parties have been preoccupied with electoral tactics, LMP has nominated a prime ministerial candidate in the person of party co-chair Bernadett Szél and is running candidates in all 106 electoral districts. Recently certain members of LMP indicated that under given circumstances, the party might withdraw certain candidates in favor of other stronger opposition candidates. Last week LMP national secretary Benedek Róbert Sallai reaffirmed that his party was not considering any kind of cooperation with the other opposition parties.

Something changed recently, as according to conservative print daily Magyar Nemzet’s information, last week Szél contacted Momentum chairman András Fekete-Győr to start talks about “the possible alliance politics in the 2018 elections.” LMP spokesperson Máté Kanász-Nagy confirmed this to index.hu, claiming that “this isn’t a new turn, LMP has always been open for cooperation for a change of era.”

Although LMP’s congress earlier accepted a resolution that ruled out cooperation with parties that were included in a government in the past 28 years, the newcomer Momentum is not among them.

Cooperation with Momentum, however, might prove difficult as Momentum’s congress also decided against forming alliances. Moreover, relations between the two parties have not been without incident. Momentum officially severed ties with LMP and ruled out any possible future cooperation after LMP board member Péter Ungár was ejected from Momentum’s 2017 summer camp by security guards. Nevertheless, Momentum could benefit from allying with a bigger party, as the party is currently measured around 1-2 percent by pollsters, well below the five percent parliamentary threshold.

The exact nature of any cooperation is yet to be known. Index.hu contacted Fekete-Győr but has yet to receive a response. According to index.hu’s sources, the Momentum chairman has not replied to Szél’s letter either.